Put your money where your mouth is

I have been working in AWANAS at my church for several years now. I started in a 3rd grade room and have moved up with the girls every year. They are now in 5th grade. Over the years, I have seen a pattern where it is sometimes difficult to motivate the girls to learn their verses. The director motivates them with candy, which sometimes works. I was brainstorming this summer things that I thought would motivate them. Here is what I came up with: The girls need to say 2 sections a week in order to finish a book in one year. So, I thought, what if I go through a book with them. I would be memorizing the verses with them. If they said a section, they could then quiz me on my sections. I thought it would be a great motivator. It was always fun to stump the teacher when I was a kid. Well, I presented this to them the first week. We are now in week 5. For the first two weeks I diligently memorized verses, but none of the girls seemed interested in quizzing me. So, I hadn't reviewed the verses in two or three weeks. Last night, one of the girls finished her section and asked if she could quiz me. I did really bad. She had to give me lots of hints. So, I guess I need to review the sections every week even if I don't expect to be quizzed! That's when I like to sing the song, "Humbleness, humbleness is what I long for. Humbleness is what I need." I know, it's not the actual song, but a good variation.

Speaking of variations, a coworker and I were talking about the Psalm 20:7, which says, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses. But we trust in the name of the Lord our God." I memorized that verse when I was in college, and she is doing the same study that I memorized it for. I was telling her how I always thought it was an odd verse to have memorized (and even odder that it has stuck with me. Too bad that wasn't one of the verses for AWANAS). So, we decided to modernize it, since I'm pretty sure it's been awhile since I've trusted in my chariot! Here's our paraphrase: "Some trust in wealth and some in good looks, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."